Winning Kyoko's Heart
by ktoll9
Summary: The cracks have been made, now all one has to do is make an effort and slip in. I will warn you,This is the companion piece to "Reino's Victory". Hope you enjoy 8)
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Skip Beat! Or, any of it's characters. Thank you Nakamura Yoshiki for your inspiration and creativity.**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 _ **A Small Token**_

* * *

"Kyoko-chan! You have a delivery." The receptionist called out to her waving from the front desk as Kyoko walked through the door.

"I do? What is it?" Kyoko asked as she approached the wide mahogany desk in the foyer.

"This.." The receptionist pulled out a Blue gift bag with white tissue paper speckled with silver glitter spilling out and handed it to her.

Kyoko took the bag and made her way to the LoveMe room so that she could unpack her interesting package and take a look at the spoils. _Maybe it's my White Day gift from Tsuruga-san._ She thought a little excitedly, but pushed that back. _White Day is as bad as Vain Day._ She nodded in approval at the thought.

She quickly sat her things down and proceeded to unpack her new little gift. Beneath all of the tissue was a 30 cm, black leather, rectangular, flat box, with hinges on the edge. In the box, on a bed of black velvet lay a silver bracelet with four small, blueish-purple stones like Corn and centered between those stones, a gold, fairy charm. It took her breath away. Not necessarily an expensive gift, but beautiful nonetheless. There was a card in the box with the bracelet that read: _**To the most beautiful and talented actress I know.**_ It had no signature.

"Kyoko-chan, are you ready? Oh! What's that?" Yashiro saw the dazzling little bauble.

"Um, I'm not sure. It's most certainly a bracelet, but I honestly don't know who it's from." she held it up to the light and watched the little blue stones turn to an amber color. She gasped, they were exactly like Corn. That was all she needed to see to be captivated by the gift.

"Wow, that's pretty." Yashiro didn't want to say anything to her about Ren. _What if he wasn't the one who sent it? I'll have to call him later._

"Yashiro-san, will you help me put it on?" She asked with a fairy-tale sparkle in her eyes.

Yashiro smiled and nodded.

"It's so pretty." as she jingled the little dangling fairy hanging from her wrist.

"Well, are you ready to go to the cast meeting?" Yashiro asked enthusiastically.

"Hai!" She gathered her things and left with her temporary manager.

* * *

"So did you give it to her?" His friend asked him.

"Yes, I left it at the front desk with the receptionist for her." The young man answered.

"You didn't sign your name did you." His friend commented dryly.

"No, why?" He cluelessly answered.

"Kami! How on Earth is she supposed to know it's from you!?" His friend exclaimed in frustration.

"Ah, I guess I should have signed the card." The young man mused.

His friend smacked himself on the forehead. "You _**are**_ as much of a Love Idiot as she is!" He ended the conversation before he said anything else.

The young man sat on the weight bench with his head resting on his hands in defeat and sighed loudly. _I still can't get used to this.._

* * *

"Ne, Kyoko-chan you have your very first photo shoot today. Are you excited?" He was finally able to talk her into taking some of those offers for modeling that she received from being Natsu.

"I am a little nervous. I'm not sure I'm model material." she couldn't believe they actually offered. What was she going to do without the magic of Princess Rosa? _Well, it did work for the Dark Moon Party, maybe it would be okay. I hope it will be okay. I don't want them to think I'm a fraud._ She was making those interesting faces again.

Yashiro let out a chuckle. "Kyoko-chan, you'll do fine. Stop worrying." _This girl, when is she going to see that she's more than what she thinks she is?_

"Thank you Yashiro-san... What's the company sell again?" She was in such a hurry, she had forgotten to bring the envelope with her that explained it in detail.

"There's a copy of what was in your envelope in the glove box." He flipped it open and she grabbed the new envelope.

"Ah, I get to wear Big Sister clothes! I wonder if they have anything princess themed.. maybe a nice dress with big poofy sleeves and a really long skirt." _There she goes into fairy-tale mode_.

* * *

Long skirts, silk blouses in a wide array of muted tones, summer and winter dresses, shoes as far as the eye could see and the cutest jackets that she would have willingly taken a life for. ( _not really but, maybe._ ) Not just that.. Hair and makeup was waiting just for her. That alone gave her the giddy feeling she always got when she settled into the makeup chair to have someone do it for her with the high quality makeup she had grown to love, but not afford. _Maybe I'll finally be able to pay off my bills and start buying the things I really like_. Her little fairy jingled on her wrist again.

"Kyoko-chan, I'll be out here on the bench. I have a few papers to look over for you and Ren." He pointed to the white, plush sofa along the wall just outside the dressing room. He closed the door behind him and pulled out a glove so he could handle his phone. "Now, let's find out."

The phone rang once, twice, three times and finally picked up.

"Hello Yashiro-san, what did you need?" Ren's deep voice rumbled over the line.

"Ren..Kyoko-chan got the bracelet you sent to her for White Day." Yashiro told him in a teasing voice.

"Yashiro-san, I didn't get Mogami-san anything for White Day. What are you talking about?" Yashiro held out his phone in disbelief and stared at it for a moment.

"Yashiro-san... You still there?" Ren asked thinking Yashiro had damaged another phone.

"Ah.. Yes." _If Ren didn't send it then who did?_

"Are you saying she got a bracelet for White Day? Do you know who sent it?" Trying to sound unconcerned.

"Ah.. Never mind. I was just curious." Why get him riled up if there was nothing he was going to do about it? "I just thought you got her something."

"Was that all?" Ren was starting to get irritated. He had a bad day on the set and he was trying to relax when he was bombarded with this.

"Yeah. Talk to you later." Yashiro hung up even more mystified. Maybe he could get more information later from Kyoko-chan. If they put their heads together maybe they could figure this out.

* * *

"So, what did you think of your first shoot?" He asked as they walked to the car.

"It was amazing. I had so much fun!" She was practically glowing.

"Have you figured out who sent you the bracelet?" Yashiro gently prodded.

"No.." She gave a cute little frown as he shut her door and entered the driver's side.

"Hmm, could it be Fuwa-san?" He really didn't want to step on that landmine, but it was a possibility.

"No. He's too flashy and selfish to send me something like this without letting everyone know." She glowered, but less that usual.

"Hmm, yeah. I see your point." His mind instantly flashed back to the flowers and chocolate on Valentine's Day. "What about that singer from Vie Ghoul?" He had hoped it wasn't, not after Karuizawa.

She pursed her lips in disgust, "I don't think the Beagle sent it. It didn't feel cursed or, anything."

Yashiro shook his head. _This girl._

She held her wrist to the sunlight beaming through the windows and watched the gems change colors, then gasped. "I know who sent it!"

"Who!?" _At last, mystery solved._

"The Fairy Prince Corn!" She exclaimed excitedly.

 _Then again, maybe not..._

She then proceeded to tell the tale of her experience in Guam when she met Corn and how he was her true first kiss. She did leave out the part about how he looked like Tsuruga-san, out of embarrassment for thinking about him. That would be their little secret. _Suspicious_. _This needs looking into._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

 _ **What Is The Meaning Of This?**_

* * *

Today was the strangest day, not that yesterday wasn't strange, getting a bracelet from Corn and all, but everywhere she went she would find a white carnation. One at school ( _ **for Kyoko**_ ). One at LME ( _ **for Kyoko**_ ). One in her dressing room on the set of her new drama ( _ **for Kyoko**_ ). Another at her other photo shoot ( _ **for Kyoko**_ ). The one the security guard at TBM delivered ( _ **for Kyoko**_ ) and finally when she got home, the Okami said it was left on the counter near the cash register ( _ **for Kyoko**_ ). She knew what they signified: that cursed word, that she only just recently accepted, innocence, good luck, protection, healing and strength. This was highly suspicious, only Sawara-san and Moko-san knew about Bo. _That's right! Moko-san.. I'll have to thank her for the flowers. They really cheered me up today._ She smiled softly.

* * *

"You did it again didn't you..." His friend said flatly.

The young man sighed, "Yes..." It was done, too late to change it. The arrangements for the deliveries had already been made. He would have to think of something else.

"If you don't tell her, someone else is going to take credit." His friend warned.

"I know, but I just can't do it. I don't want her to hate me." He wasn't whining or, anything. He just knew Kyoko, but not as much as he would like to. He sighed, "Ever since..."

"I know.. You can do this. Girls aren't mystical creatures. Eventually you'll hit the right buttons and the doors will fly open." His friend told him as he gave him a pat on the back.

He opened up his leather bound journal and started writing again, another little jumble of words that reminded him of Kyoko. He sketched a little fairy on the upper corner of the page and smiled gently.

If one were to flip to the last pages of said journal, one would find all of her favorites listed. Her favorite color, the foods she liked best, her favorite flower, the date of her Birthday, which wasn't for a while, her favorite perfumes, her little quirks about fairies and the little blueish-purple stone called Corn. Even the sad little details about her life were included, he didn't want to leave a single thing out. He penned it carefully from memory, without any aid, hoping it was all still correct. Shockingly enough, if he ever had the chance to see her again, hopefully on good terms, he would discover it was all 100% accurate. He closed the little book, fastened the little lock and went to bed.

* * *

So, every day that week, after the initial barrage of flowers, a white carnation would wait for her at her first job of the day or, at the LME reception desk with a little card attached that read: _**For Kyoko.**_ A simple message and gesture, but she just couldn't help but think about how sweet it was.

"Moko-saaaaaaaaaannnn! Thank you soo much!" She ran to Kanae attempting to thank her with a bone crushing hug as the poor woman stood in the hall outside the LoveMe room.

"Mo! Stop doing that! And why are you thanking me?" Kanae's brows knit when she saw the little white carnation Kyoko was carrying.

"For this.." She smiled sweetly.

"Ugh.. why would I waste money on flowers?" Kanae huffed.

Kyoko looked crestfallen. "You didn't send me all those flowers? If you didn't and Tsuruga-san didn't, then..."

"What do you mean _**all**_ those flowers? How many do you have?" This wasn't good, having to compete in the gift department with the tall actor was bad enough. Now this?

Kyoko snapped out of her reverie and grabbed her pink uniform from her locker. "I got a whole bunch the first day. Let's see..." she shut the locker door with uniform in hand and stared pensively at the little logo on the door. "There was one at school, one in my dressing room at the drama, one at my photo shoot, one at TBM and one at home."

Kanae shot her a worried look, "Kyoko.. so, what you're saying is, you have a stalker." The flower left at her home was the most distressing. Whomever it was, knew where she lived and had the courage to go there. "Did you tell Yashiro-san about this?"

Kyoko shook her head. "No. I thought they were from you, so I didn't worry about it."

"Well, they aren't and you need to worry about it, Mo! I don't know what to do about you. You need to tell Yashiro-san." She huffed in frustration as she placed her things in the pink locker and slammed it shut.

* * *

Yashiro was now completely stumped as he watched the versatile little pixie-like girl act her part in front of the camera. _Hmm, if Ren didn't send her the bracelet.. he probably didn't send those flowers either and she did say Kotonami-san didn't send them. So who...? That one at her home has me worried. I should say something to Takarada-san_.

"Cut!" The director called out and Yashiro was by her side, as she finished dropping out of character, with a bottled water and encouraging words. Her part in the scene appeared flawless.

"Everyone break for lunch." The director looked at his watch. "Be back here in an hour to do the last scene for the day."

"Kyoko-san, there's a person over there that would like to speak to you." The stage hand pointed to the door where a nervous young lady stood. Kyoko nodded and made her way to her.

"Are you Kyoko-sama?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, are you okay?" Kyoko felt like she was making her uncomfortable.

"Ah.. Yes! This is just my first time delivering to someone so famous. I really loved your Mio and Natsu is sooo cool." The girl told her with a dreamy look. "Could I get your autograph? Oh! I'm s-s-sorry. I almost forgot.." The girl handed her a beautifully wrapped bento and almost ran.

"Wait!" Kyoko was able to get the star-struck teen's attention before she disappeared. "Do you know who sent this?"

"No, it was called in to our shop." She was really bothered she couldn't help her. "We were told to deliver it right at noon."

"Kyoko-chan. Is everything okay?" Yashiro called out as he approached the two teens.

"Hai Yashiro-san. Oh! Do you have a piece of paper?" Kyoko just remembered the girl's request.

He nodded and whipped out his little planner, ripped a page from it and handed her a pen.

She put her signature on the paper with the prettiest little flourish. "Here you go." She smiled, "Thank you for watching my programs."

The girl squealed and leapt at Kyoko with a hug, surprising Yashiro and Kyoko. "Thank you." The girl repeated over and over as Yashiro was peeling her off. "Sorry, I was just so excited. My friends are never going to believe this!" Kyoko had made the girl so happy. "Oh! I've gotta get back to work. Nice to meet you Kyoko-sama." She waved.

"Well that was different. I've never had that happen before." Kyoko had this warm feeling in her heart and it spilled into her smile as she grabbed the bento and they walked to her dressing room.

"So.. what did you order for lunch?" He asked out of curiosity. She normally packed her own.

"I didn't.. She said that someone called her shop and asked to deliver it at noon." _I wonder if it's the person that sent the flowers_. She stiffened a little not wanting to think about it. If it was Corn, that was great, phenomenal in fact, but if it was the other person.. not so much. She carefully opened the box and peeked in as if it were a trap of some kind. There was no need to worry, it was filled to the brim with all of her favorites, beautifully arranged and cutely decorated. As she finished removing the lid, she revealed a beautifully carved set of chop-sticks encased in a special compartment wrapped with a note that read: _**I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy your lunch. From someone that Loves you.**_

Yashiro watched as Kyoko froze with the little note in her hand. It appeared as though she had completely shut down. It did seem that way on the outside, but inwardly the cogs of her mind were turning. A tiny part, deep within her brain, weakly pulsed. _Now I know it isn't from Sho. He would never say anything like that, nor would he take the time to do this_. She finally tensed with irritation. She pocketed the note and started eating, after all, she wasn't wasteful.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 _ **Little Things**_

* * *

The day started out perfectly, aside from another carnation and _**this**_. Yashiro wouldn't be around much today, he had to attend to Ren. It was his first day back and initially, before _**this**_ , she was pretty excited about his return. Nervous and excited.

Kyoko let out a long, deep sigh as she stared at the little gold foiled box with a perfect little brown ribbon wrapped tightly around it and a little fairy phone charm tied securely to it. She almost felt that if she pulled the ribbon, it would be like pulling a pin on a grenade. She had already taken the card on the tiny 10cm x 10cm square box. _**Sweets for my Sweet Kyoko. I hope this brings a smile to you.**_ It had been included with her now, daily white carnation.

She let out a deep sigh and lifted her head from the table. "Well.. I guess I better see what's inside." She said to the empty LoveMe room, succumbing to her fate. She gently tugged the ribbon, releasing the little charm and setting it aside next to the little box. She carefully removed the foil covered lid to find four of the most delicious looking chocolate truffles nestled in little brown paper cups waiting for her. She picked up the little box and sniffed the candies trying to determine if they were safe, then took one gingerly from the tiny box and popped it into her mouth.

A heavenly smile crept across her lips and she moaned in culinary ecstasy. "So good..." The texture was silky smooth and the flavor was rich and dark. Not too bitter and not too sweet. It was a perfect balance. Whomever sent this knew her tastes very well and it most definitely was not Sho, she surmised. It was almost as if this person had, everything these past couple of weeks, specifically tailored to her tastes and her alone. It kind of gave her a warm feeling knowing someone out there went out of their way to do something like that for her, just to make her smile.

* * *

"These are pretty good." His friend complimented as he stared at the papers in front of him. "Although, I didn't quite expect, this. Is this because of her?"

He gave out a light chuckle. "Yeah, I didn't expect it either." He told him ruffling his neatly manicured fingers through his hair and looking at the papers in his friend's hand. "Can you work with it?"

"It's all good.. was looking for a little change of pace anyway." He smiled and patted him on the back. "Looks like you're making progress." He turned and left the room.

"I hope I am.. for both of us." He answered quietly just out of earshot and smiled a wistful smile with a sad look in his eyes.

 _She should be there today._ He had another idea, maybe a little more bold than what he'd been doing. The thought of it made him nervous. He grabbed his coat off the plush sofa it had been draped over and left with a little brown teddy-bear peeking out of his coat pocket.

* * *

The young man sat with his head down, almost shyly, wringing his hands, as she looked at him from the corner of her eye at the table across from her in the TBM cafeteria. He seemed a little familiar, she appraised his well toned muscles and broad shoulders. He didn't dress like anyone she knew except the Bridge rock boys. He wore a long sleeved cotton shirt, a pair of faded blue jeans, an old faded denim jacket with a sweatshirt hood and nice loafers. His natural platinum blond hair hung over his face covering his eyes and she could see the light traces of a scar on his temple that ended diagonally under his hair on the other side. _Hm, I don't know anyone with a scar.. Why does he seem so familiar? He doesn't seem threatening, like Sho or, the Beagle._ A little grudgling popped up, looked around, shrugged her shoulders and went back to sleep. _That was strange.._

He stood and walked to her and stopped at the table in front of her. He pulled out, from his coat pocket, a little brown teddy-bear with pastel colored fairy wings and sat him in front of her.

"I.. I thought you might like this." He told her in a nervous whisper she could barely hear, with his head still down. "Sorry about what I said." He then turned and left a very confused Kyoko staring at his back and then at the most adorable little stuffed animal she had ever laid eyes on.

She slid her arms forward on the table and took the little bear's paws in her hands, staring at him as her chin rested on the table. "Who's your friend little guy?" She sighed.

* * *

"Good morning Mogami-san." The deep, rich voice of Tsuruga Ren permeated the LoveMe room as she sat on the sofa, fiddling with the wings of her new little friend still trying to figure out the identity of the somewhat handsome young man with the scar. _Maybe he was the one that sent me everything else. But, how would he know about Corn and all of my favorite things? The cards kind of match up with what he said, the I'm sorry..._ She let out a long sigh as she ruminated about her eventful morning at TBM.

"Mogami-san?" Ren called out and broke her from her reverie.

Her head shot up and her eyes met his. "Oh! Tsuruga-san! Sorry.. Did you need something?"

"No. I just stopped by to say hello and see how you were doing." He gave her a tender smile. "Oh, is that a gift for someone?" He referred to the little bear.

"Oh this? No, someone gave him to me." She knew somehow that saying this was a big mistake as soon as it left her mouth. She could feel her little grudge antenna pop as Ren's annoyance grew.

"And that?" He walked forward to get a better look at the bracelet she was wearing, trying to cover his jealousy.

"Umm, I think he gave me this too." She answered nervously.

"Well.. That's nice." He flashed his lying smile at her.

"Umm.." She fidgeted.

"Good morning Kyoko-chan!" Yashiro cheerfully greeted as he walked in on the couple. _Oh.. what is this? Ren.. control your temper_. Even Yashiro could feel the tension in the room. _I better do something about this before he sabotages himself_.

"Oh Ren.. Are you ready to leave for your interview?" He asked, while checking his watch.

Ren nodded and Yashiro grabbed his arm pulling him out of the room and away from the situation. "Oh! And don't forget Kyoko-chan, your drama filming is at one." He called to her as they left.

"You know, if you keep doing that you're going to scare her off." Yashiro scolded.

"Did you know about this?" Ren had a little bit of a jealous growl in his tone.

"Know about what?" Yashiro honestly didn't know what he was referring to.

"The bear... The bracelet. Is that why you asked me about White Day?" Ren asked as he pushed the button for the elevator with a bit too much force.

"The bracelet yes, but the bear is something new. Did she say who gave it to her?" Yashiro's curiosity was peaked.

"All she said was that _**'He'**_ gave them to her." Ren told him with a tone that made Yashiro want to end the conversation.

"I see." He said in deep thought. _I warned you Ren..._ His thought flashed to the moment as they entered the parking garage.

* * *

The young, scarred blond entered the studio beaming with bliss. Nothing would bring him down today after how this morning went. She didn't yell at him, she didn't scowl, she didn't slap him.. she was actually quite subdued. This shows promise. He happily thought as he draped his jacket over the stool and picked up the acoustic guitar and started to strum.

"Wow, you look happy." His friend told him as he entered the sound-proof booth with him.

"I went to TBM and gave her the bear." He beamed proudly.

"What did she say?" His friend waited with bated breath.

"Nothing really." He remarked as he turned the peg on the guitar.

"She didn't recognize you.. Did she?" His friend rolled his eyes.

He shook his head, "Well at least she knows my gifts aren't from Fuwa or, the other guy."

"Yeah, I guess." His friend sighed while grabbing his drumsticks and sitting behind his set.

"Baby steps... baby steps." He commented.

The drummer laughed and shook his head again.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I do not own Skip Beat! Or, any of the songs that I will use in this chapter. The song that is used will be "I Want It All" by Edwin McCain.**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4**_

 _ **Is It This or, Is It That?**_

* * *

She carefully slid the little square MP3 player out of the envelope and read the note it was wrapped in:

 _ **Kyoko,**_

 _ **I wrote this for you. It's how I feel about you. I hope you like it.. You are and always will be the only one I think of when I sing it.**_

 _He's a musician? I may as well listen_. She resignedly put the little buds in her ears and turned on the player to find that there was only one song on it, labeled track #1. His strong, soft voice started out with the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. _He wrote this for me?_ Her brow furrowed and then came the beginning of the chorus. _This is how he feels about... Me?_

" _Cause when I fell~, I fell hard for every part. From the beauty in your eyes to your little battle scars."_

His voice lilted into her ears and caressed a part of her soul. She was touched, no one had ever actually came out and said anything like that to her, in music or, otherwise. She actually felt a little wanted without the premise of acting and it definitely was _**not**_ Sho. She smiled a little. _Maybe I'll keep this_. She decided.

"Kyoko-sempai," Chiori was waving her hand in front of Kyoko's face to get her attention.

"Oh, sorry Chiori. I was just listening to this song." She still had that soft smile on her lips.

Chiori gave her a sly smile. "May I hear it too?" She had to know what gave her the peaceful look without Tsuruga-san around.

"Sure.. here." She handed it to her and pressed the play button.

She listened the whole way through, her head swaying with the little tune then turned to Kyoko with a look of awe. "He wrote this for you..." It wasn't a question. "That's amazing, I wish someone felt that way about me." She groused a little. "Do you know who he is?"

"Does she know who, who is?" Kanae added as she walked in on the conversation.

"Here, listen." Chiori plopped the earbuds into her hand and pressed the button when they were in place.

Kanae listened through, then with a stunned look handed the player back to Kyoko. "Well.. I'm not really into that mushy stuff, but it did sound okay." It sounded really okay.. _How does Kyoko get all of these men on her trail?_ Not that Kanae wanted any of them, _but it is nice to be thought of like that once in a while._ "Do you know who sent it?"

"Who sent what?" A dreaded deep voice reverberated through the small room. "Oh! Mogami-kun. That is a lovely bracelet. Is this what you're talking about ladies?"

"No Sir. We were talking about this." Kyoko handed him the MP3 player. Maybe he recognized the voice on the other end.

Lory listened through and instantly knew. After all, as the President of a major talent agency it was his duty to know about other talents. Even if they did belong to other agencies. "That is a very lovely song. I've never heard it before. Do you know who wrote it?" He asked trying to discover if Kyoko actually knew.

"No Sir, but he did send me this note." She handed him the little piece of paper and his eyes got that strange glimmer in them as he read the words meant for Kyoko. _Hmm, looks like Ren is a little behind in the game_. "I think he's the one that gave me my bracelet and.." She pulled out the little teddy-bear, "this."

Lory raised an eyebrow. _Well.. looks like he's using everything in his arsenal. He doesn't seem like the type for that song though, hm. Love does do interesting things_. He smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait Sir! Do you know who it is?" Judging from his expression it was obvious he knew.

"Not a clue." He lied and winked at her.

* * *

 _I hope she like the song_. He mused as he stood in line to buy his next little gift for her. He checked his watch. _She's going to be filming for her drama in an hour, it takes about 30 minutes to get there. Yeah, I've got time. Maybe she'll let me watch her act. I wonder what her new character is like._

"Sir.. Here's your change." The girl at the counter gave him his change and the little, warm paper bag.

"Thank you." He nodded and took the bag.

"Thank you and have a nice day." She called out as he left the shop. _Ding_.

"Hey Mikka.. Was that?" Her coworker asked with excitement.

"Yeah, I think it was. I wonder what happened. He's got this big scar right here." She trailed her finger diagonally across her forehead to her temple.

"Don't care.. He's still hot." She commented, "Too bad you didn't think to get his autograph." She added with laughter.

Mikka paled then slumped down. "I did it again didn't I?"

Her friend nodded.

* * *

There he was, leaning against the wall across from her dressing room, the mysterious young man from the other day that gave her the cute little fairy bear. He was casually dressed in jeans again, but this time he was wearing darkly tinted sunglasses and holding a little white paper bag in his hand.

 _Who is this guy?_ "Hi!" She called out and waved. _Hm, no better way to find out then ask._

He straightened in surprise and looked her way. "Hi." He answered nervously. "Um, I thought you might be a little hungry. So I got this for you." He held out his offering.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that." She told him as she took a peek into the bag only to find her favorite Golden Star Onigiri. "Wow! You **really** didn't have to do that. How did you know I like those?"

"I just had a hunch." He smiled softly then touched her shoulder and caressed his hand down to hers. He felt a little more confident now.

"Um, thank you." She told him as the blush from her neck crept up and lightly tinted her ears and cheeks.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You look cute like that." Then gave her hand a gentle squeeze and left. Keeping his head lowered as he passed by the tall man and his companion that had been watching them. _Feels good not to do that anymore_. He thought for sure he would have been bombarded when he walked past, but he wasn't. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and left the building. He felt like his heart was going to burst. _Maybe I can watch her some other time_.

"Hello Mogami-san.. Who was that?" His deep rich voice pulled one of her grudglings out to bask in his fake smile and anger.

"Umm, that was a friend?" She answered. _What the hell did I do this time?_ She inwardly cowered from him.

"What did he want?" Ren interrogated, but tried to keep the air of the conversation casual.

"Oh um, he just brought me a snack." She held up the little white paper sack. "Um, I think I should go get ready now." She scooted along the wall then quickly walked to her dressing room panting in fear with her heart racing. _Ugh, I just cannot relax around him. It always feels like I've done something wrong_. She sank to her knees. She then had an idea and pulled out the little MP3 player with the voice on it that had come to soothe her nerves over the past few days whenever Ren had made her feel like a criminal.

The music soothed her as expected and the little snack sated her appetite. That little gland in the center of her brain pulsed a little stronger and grew just a small fraction larger as she hummed the tune while dressing for her role.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

"Mo! So let me get this straight... He bought you a bracelet. He's been sending you flowers every day for the past, I don't know, 3 weeks? He sent you a bento with all of your favorites. He sent your favorite chocolates with that ridiculous little charm there. He personally delivered that stupid little fairy bear and brought you a snack of your favorite onigiri at work. You still don't know his name!? How dense can you be!?" Kanae exclaimed.

"Moko-saaannn, I was a little distracted." She whined as they walked to the LoveMe room. "He does seem familiar though."

"How?" Kanae prodded.

"Well, he reminds me of someone, but that someone isn't as..." she paused and blushed, "well built and he just doesn't feel scary like the other person." she looked up in thought and tapped her chin with her index finger. "They do have the same color hair though, but his hair is shorter. If he would just show me his eyes..." She sighed. _Maybe it's like a good twin, evil twin thing._

"You haven't seen his eye's yet? How is that even possible?" _Mo! This woman is frustrating. How could she not know what he looks like? He stood in front of her twice!_

"Well, when he gave me the bear his hair was in the way and the second time, he was wearing sunglasses." She explained. "Tsuruga-san seemed really angry that time and started asking a lot of questions. What do you think that was about?" She added randomly.

"MO! Focus, one man at a time!" Kanae flicked her on the forehead. "Who knows why he was ticked." _Because he was obviously jealous, but it's not like you'll listen to me on that one. I stopped barking up that tree a long time ago._

* * *

"Who is that guy?" Ren sat and swirled the amber liquid in it's glass as the image of Kyoko blushing for another man invaded his memory. "I expected him to gloat when he passed us." The image of the familiar young man wearing sunglasses and almost hiding his face flashed by. "Are they dating each other? No.. She said he was a friend. Didn't seem like a friend though and why does he seem so familiar?" He sighed and went for a refill. "It's most certainly not Fuwa. Fuwa would have walked up and challenged me. This one almost seemed like he was avoiding me." An image of Reino flashed in his mind. "No, not him... Hair's shorter and has a big scar on his face." Ren let out a deep sigh and filtered his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I need to calm down. I'm going to scare her off just like Yashiro warned."

 _Flashback:_

Yashiro watched Kyoko scurry to her dressing room like a frightened woodland creature while Ren fumed. " **What** was that?.." He turned to Ren.

"What do you mean, Yashiro-san?" He put on his best fake smile.

"Ren~.. If you keep up this behavior without telling her how you feel you'll scare her. In fact.. If you don't tell her anything.. **You** have no right to know who that young man is, in the manner that you asked her. She's **not** your girlfriend..." Yashiro's hackles were raising. He had really gotten to know Kyoko while Ren was gone. Ren was giving off all the wrong signals if he wanted to keep her from running into the arms of another man.

"Yashiro-san.. She's not ready for that.." Ren told him in an irritated tone.

"or, you aren't." He whispered as Ren walked ahead of him not realizing Ren had heard. _I am not going to step in and help anymore if he's not going to do anything about it_.

 _Current:_

"Maybe he's right." Ren clenched his fist. "No.. She's not ready. She still doesn't see me that way." He sighed again and finished his drink, then headed to bed.

* * *

"So.. You seem a little more upbeat. Anything special happen today?" His friend asked knowing it was probably trivial baby steps.

"Actually I took her a snack today." He smiled at the memory of her soft, small hand in his.

"And she didn't freak out?" His friend was amazed. _Now that's progress!_

"Well.. I didn't take off my sunglasses and I had to leave before the big guy came in." He admitted.

"What gives? You've been working out since.. you know...you've put on a little muscle and you don't have that little problem anymore, so he shouldn't be an obstacle." His friend tried to instill a little confidence in his friend's new form.

"Heh, yeah. Old habits die hard. I still don't want to be around him." He told him.

His friend sighed, "You may have to if you want to be around her. Like it or, not he is part of her life."

"Yeah, but a guard dog that bites its owner isn't a very good guard dog." He finished.

"You have a point. She'll get tired of it." His friend agreed. "Make sure you're there when she does."

"Don't you worry about that." He smirked with a fire in his eyes.

* * *

There stood Ren, once again, at the edge of the cliff as she fell. She watched him grow smaller as she fell further. As she tumbled through the abyss, a hand reached into the darkness and offered safety. With a grasp of the hand, she felt a pull as she was lifted close to his chest. She looked up at the scarred angel, his eyes were closed as his glorious, white, feathered wings pulled them higher and higher until they were soaring above all of the uncertainty that spanned far beneath them. She clung tightly with her face buried.

 _ **Beep! Beep! Beep!**_

Her hand forcefully slammed onto the off button. "What was that about..?"

She arose from her futon, straightened her room and stored her bedding, then headed for the shower just like every other day. She stood in front of her closet and stared at her clothing trying to make a decision, just like every other day. Only today, she would pull out a pair of her leather pants and a _big sister_ blouse that she had bought for Natsu. Today.. she swept her bangs to the side and decided to put on a little makeup, not too much. Finally... today, she would put on her ankle boots then appraise her image in her full-length mirror and nod her head in approval. "Hmm, that's not so bad." she turned from side to side completing the image, then grabbed one of her new bags, that was bought for Setsuka, filled it with the contents of her old one and waited for her ride with Yashiro-san.

* * *

Yashiro watched as Kyoko came out of the Darumaya. She wasn't her usual stiff, prim and proper self. Her walk was more like a catwalk model, she seemed more relaxed and her clothes were more mature. She was wearing makeup, not a lot, just enough to make her eyes pop, her lips glisten and her cheeks flush.

"You look nice today Kyoko-chan." He commented as she entered the backseat.

She blushed a little. "Thank you Yashiro-san."

"Do you have something you're auditioning for today?" He couldn't remember if she mentioned or, not.

"No.. Just wanted a little change." She told him in a far off tone.

He nodded. _I wonder..._

* * *

"Kyoko-ch.." The receptionist was a little flustered by Kyoko's look today. Heads turned to see what had thrown off the receptionist. Many eyes went wide with the minor changes. "Oh! Um, this came for you." She reached behind the desk and sat a purplish-blue vase filled with huge Stargazer Lilies, pale pink roses and little white orchids arranged with fern and delicate little artificial butterflies. "Oh and this too." She gave her a little familiar 10 cm envelope with a little lump in it.

Kyoko blushed, she had a hunch who sent it. Her hand tingled from the memory of his. "Thank you." She told her quietly and rushed off with the vase of flowers in her grasp and the envelope safely in her bag. She could feel her heart pounding strongly in her chest and throat.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Lol, you know the drill: I don't own the manga and I am definitely not talented enough to own the music. Although, it would be nice. (sigh..)**_

 _ **The song used in this chapter is: Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6**_

 _ **Flowers In Bloom**_

* * *

His eyes trailed from the floor up as the door to the LoveMe room opened. The first thing he saw was Setsu's stacked heel ankle boots, then her black leather pants, without the decorative holsters. He was a little confused. Next he saw a dark blue, long, fitted, long-sleeved shirt with lace edging around the low-cut neck and little lace inserts in the arms. His eyes finally rested on her tastefully made up visage and her perfectly coiffed hair. Was this Natsu? No.. that part was over now. Why was she like this? She looked older than 17, much older. No.. not older, more.. mature.

She didn't notice the _500 lb gorilla_ in the room, when she sat the flowers on the table and started rummaging through her bag for the new little envelope.

"Mogami-san?" He called to get her attention.

"Oh! Tsuruga-san!" She nearly flung the contents of her bag all over the table. She was clutching her fist to her heart and trying to calm herself. "I didn't see you there when I came in."

Ren chuckled. "I can see that." He gave her his true smile.

"Well," She started nervously, "I can see you're in a better mood today." She grumbled something about him scaring her half to death as she continued to rummage through her bag finally finding the envelope, then deciding for some reason not yet clear to her, that it wouldn't be a good idea to take it out just now and putting it in the cell phone pocket of her bag.

"I see you got the flowers.." He whispered in her ear as he passed her and left the room with a big mischievous smile on his face, leaving her frozen, blushing and staring at the flowers.

"Whaa? Wait!" She ran out after him and he was gone. "Playboy!" She stomped back into the room and looked at the flowers once again, then finally reading the card that they came with. _**I just wanted to get something special for the most beautiful and talented actress I know. Happy White Day. Yours Ren.**_

"What the heck that all about? What does he mean by _**Yours**_ Ren? He's not mine.." She blushed then sighed in frustration. _I'm getting the wrong idea again. It's just a return gift._ She shook her head, then took the little envelope from her bag, opened it and poured the contents into her hand. _Another player. Hmm, I wonder what it sounds like this time?_ She pulled the earbuds from the other in her bag and attached them and began to listen. One stanza stood out the most, it caressed her ears as she listened to every... single... word his soothing voice sang to her:

" _Now I'm falling even more in love with you. Letting go of all I've held onto. I'm standing here until you make me move. I'm hanging by a moment here with you."_

A warmth slowly carried from her shoulders, to her neck, to her ears and onto her cheeks as she listened and absorbed the words and their meaning. It felt good, like something warm and fuzzy in her brain. It made her want to listen to the song again and again, so she pushed the repeat button, placed the player in her pocket and left the earbuds in. It felt good to feel loved... Although, she wasn't about to say that out loud just yet.

* * *

Kyoko stood at the elevator in the building where the studio was for her photo shoot, head bobbing to the music, waiting for her turn when a light tap fell upon her shoulder. She turned and there he was, smiling with his sunglasses on.

He pulled one of the little buds out of her ear, "Hi beautiful."

She blushed. _When am I going to stop doing that?_ "Um, Hi." She looked up through her thick lashes at him.

"You look really nice today." He leaned in and whispered to her.

"Th-thank you." She mumbled nervously staring at the floor.

"I brought something for you." He presented his daily white carnation.

"Thank you." She looked up and smiled shyly as she took it.

He lifted his hand to her cheek and gently caressed it. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She watched him walk out the door, completely forgetting to ask him his name or, to even ask him to remove his sunglasses, or how he knew her schedule, for that matter. She inwardly banged her head on the floor for her forgetfulness. _Ugh! Men!_ She shook her head and realized she missed her ride up and waited for the next elevator.

* * *

He was so happy he felt like he was going to burst. He wanted to shout it from a mountain top. _She was listening to the music I wrote for her! She liked it! She let me touch her! She smiled at me!_ He jumped into his little, sleek black sports car and cheered. Miroku was right, it **was** the little things. Reino was so ashamed for being so over-the-top with her. This was so much better than he expected. He liked this feeling. It wasn't like a quick burning heat that was over before you knew it. It was more like a slow warmth that just kind of crept up on you and wrapped itself around you in comfort.

"Okay.. Don't get ahead of yourself." He scolded himself, "Baby steps.. right.. baby steps."

He started up his car and headed for his meeting with his physical trainer and the martial arts lessons he had been taking for the last few months since the accident. After that would be rehearsal, then he would record one more song to give to her later.

* * *

Standing in the elevator, she was examining the carnation her gave to her when it hit her. _Oh no.. I forgot to tell Tsuruga-san thank you for the flowers. How could I forget something like that? It's so rude of me! Hmm, I'll send him a text when I get to the changing room. Right.. that should be okay, shouldn't it?_ She nodded her head, put the earbuds back in without thinking about it and continued to listen while cutely nibbling on her lower lip and bobbing her head, in time with the beat, with her eyes closed as she rode up to her chosen floor. She would leave behind a trail of smitten men that afternoon.

 _Kyoko-chan:_ Thank you for the flowers. They were very pretty. (^_^)

 _Tsuruga-san:_ You're welcome. I'm glad you liked them.

 _ **Ten minutes later.**_

 _Tsuruga-san:_ Would you like to join me for dinner tonight? m(-_-)m

 _Kyoko-chan:_ Sorry.. I have plans tonight. (T_T)

 _Sorry Tsuruga-san, I have to be Bo tonight.._ She snapped her phone shut and sat in the chair to wait for the hair and makeup artist.

* * *

 _She has plans tonight? I wonder if it's him.._ His mood fell dramatically. _I need to find out who this guy is. He might be a danger to her._ He sat on his sofa in his office and stared at the ceiling, trying to contemplate on what to do next. _Hmm, she didn't seem too worried about him._ The image of the scarred young man holding her hand, without her protesting, flashed from his memory again. _Maybe they_ _ **are**_ _dating_. His mood fell a little more.

Yashiro walked into the gloomiest office in LME to find a very distracted Tsuruga Ren sitting on the sofa. _Must be those flowers in the LoveMe room that caused this. I better do something_.

"Yashiro-san... Do you still manage Mogami-san's schedule?" Ren tried to sound nonchalant.

 _Well, this is a little better.._ "Uh, yes.."

"Where is she right now? I would like to take her to lunch." _Oh, ho-ho._ Yashiro raised an eyebrow and a sly smile crept across his lips.

He wrote the information down and handed Ren the piece of paper with her afternoon schedule on it. "This is where she'll be today."

Ren looked it over and noticed that she had a LoveMe assignment late in the evening at TBM. _I guess she did have plans_. His mood lightened a little. "Thanks."

"Yeah. Now go, you have until 2pm. Use your time wisely." Yashiro commanded as he flipped through his planner and prepared to rearrange some free time for Ren until 2pm.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

 _ **I'm Sorry**_

* * *

It was simple.. He would go pick her up from TBM and give her a ride home, catching dinner on the way. At least that's what he thought until he ran into half of Bo. _She knew.. she knew this whole time and she was playing me._ He was livid and Kyoko felt her world come crashing down around her.

"But.. I'm sorry, I just wanted to help." she called out. "I just wanted to be your friend." She whispered to his distant back as tears streamed down her cheeks.

He drove home in the hazy red fog of anger, parked and the made his way to his apartment a little more calm than before yet, still very angry. He felt like she had made a fool of him. _I told her I was in love with her damn-it. Well, I guess I have my answer then_.

"Kyoko-chan, I'm here to give you a ride... Oh.. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Yashiro took out a hankie and gave it to her to wipe her tears.

"Tsuruga-san is angry with me for being Bo. He said that I played with him. _Hic._ I don't know what he's talking about. _Sniffle._ I never did anything like that. All I did was give him advice when he needed it. _Hic_. _Sob_." She felt like her heart had been ripped out. _This feels worse than when Sho threw me away._

"It's okay Kyoko-chan, give him time to sleep on it. I'll find out why he was so angry for you tomorrow. Okay?" Yashiro was rubbing little circles on her back to calm her down.

She nodded and dabbed her tears.

Yashiro held out his hand and helped her up from where she had been crying. "Now, let's get you home."

* * *

"Ren.. What did you do to Kyoko-chan? She was crying her eyes out when I came to pick her up from TBM tonight." Yashiro wanted to bite his head off but, knew it would get him nowhere if he wanted to hear Ren's side of the story.

"She's Bo." Ren told him in a serious tone.

"and... that gives you reason to reduce her into the state she was in tonight? She was devastated. She told me she only tried being your friend. You want to explain to me what's going on?" He wanted to say more.

"I told her I was in love with her a long time ago. Yashiro-san, she played me." bringing it up again was bringing back the anger.

"So, you're telling me you came out and told Kyoko-chan that you loved her and she strung you along? That doesn't sound like her." Yashiro knew he was leaving something out.

"No I told Bo I was in love with a..." He sighed when he realized his enormous mistake. "I screwed this up so bad."

"You told Bo what?" Yashiro prodded.

Ren sighed again, "I told him that I was in love with a high school girl. I didn't give her name."

"and what?... You expect her to be a mind reader? You need to fix this yourself. I'll see you tomorrow." Yashiro told him in a scolding tone.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." _How do I fix this? Her Bo is nothing compared to my secrets. I must have made her feel so horrible._ This was his last train of thought as he dozed off on his living-room sofa.

* * *

Kyoko tossed and turned all night with dreams that were filled with nightmarish images of Ren in various demonic phases, inflicting a multitude of punishments on her fragile heart. Her final nightmare ended with _the old_ Reino stepping in and coming to her rescue. Oddly enough it calmed her and she couldn't understand why. In her dream he comforted her, he said nothing about her characters, or her normal appearance, he just sat with her in his arms and held her without speaking.

 **Beep! Beep! Beep!**

Kyoko's hand slammed down on the alarm and she proceeded with her the morning routine that she had gone through yesterday. When it came time to dress, she picked her more mature look again, she enjoyed the feeling it gave and the little bit of attention that came with it. Her friends complimented her quite a bit yesterday and the confident feeling it gave made her feel worthy somehow. She didn't feel plain and boring. She looked cute in her tight black jeans, fitted V-neck sweater and her cowgirl boots. She covered the dark circles under her eyes and wore just a touch more makeup than yesterday so she wouldn't look so pale from the lack of good sleep. She topped it off with a lipstick that was a little bit more on the red side just to be different and shake things up.

She bounced down the stairs feeling a little better than before. She looked up. There he was.. Her scarred mystery musician, sitting at the counter waiting for her. "Hi..." She stammered out.

"Hi, sorry. The Okami said I could wait for you here. I came by to see if you needed a ride." He sounded nervous about something.

"Um, Yashiro-san usually picks me up. Hold on." She felt a little brave and something felt oddly familiar.

She took out her phone and called Yashiro. "Um, Yashiro-san?"

" _ **Ah, Kyoko-chan. I'm heading out the door right now."**_ He sounded like he was in a hurry.

"Oh, don't worry I have a ride." She told him while glancing in Reino's direction.

" _ **Oh, oh okay. Are you sure."**_ He sounded a little pleased. _I guess Ren went to pick her up._

"Yeah. I'm sure." She hung up and turned back to Reino. "Okay.. that's taken care of."

"So..what time you gotta be there?" He wanted to tell her today. It was killing him with guilt that she didn't know who he was.

"Um, I actually don't have to be anywhere until around 11am, that give us 3 hours." She told him as she looked at her watch.

"Alright, but there's something I need to tell you before you agree to go with me anywhere. I don't want you to feel like you've made a mistake." He took off the sunglasses, but kept his eyes closed.

Kyoko walked to him and lifted his face so that he would be looking into her eyes when he opened his. "It's alright." she said softly, remembering Ren's reaction to her secret last night. "I think I already know." she brushed a little of his hair away from the scar. "But, I'll let **you** tell me why and **I** **will listen** to you." a little tear fell at the memory.

His violet eyes finally peered into her gentle molten gold, "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry for saying horrible things to you all those times. I'm sorry I lied about who I was, and I'm sorry for doing what I did in Karuizawa. I didn't want you to hate me. I really was an idiot like you said and I want to make it up to you." He spilled it all out to her.

"I forgive you." She told him as if it had never happened.

"Just like that? But.." He was a little shocked.

"Of course, you meant your apology and that's all that I need. But, you didn't really lie to me about who you were, you just kind of left it out and I didn't really catch on." She gave him a gentle smile and ran her thumb over part of his scar. "What happened?"

"Hmm..?" He was in heaven over her gentle touch then snapped out of his Kyoko induced stupor. "Can we talk over breakfast? I'm kinda hungry and I've got the perfect place to take you." He gave her a boyish smile.

She nodded.

He rose, grabbed her hand gently and led her out of the Darumaya to his car. "You're going to love this place." He told her as he tucked her safely into his car. "They have the most delicious food I've ever had and they aren't that expensive." He had a hunch she would like it.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

 _ **Brewing Storm**_

* * *

As Ren was parking his car, he saw Yashiro's car pull into the garage. He decided he would wait for them and apologize to Kyoko before work. At least that was the plan, until he realized Yashiro was alone this morning.

"Yashiro-san?" He was confused. _Didn't Kyoko ride with him to work?_

"Oh, Good morning Ren.." Yashiro looked around, "Where's Kyoko-chan?"

"I thought she was with you." He sounded a little worried.

"She called me this morning and told me she had a ride already. I thought you had decided to apologize to her and give her a ride." Yashiro was a little worried too.

"Why would she accept a ride from me today after last night?" He mumbled feeling ashamed.

"That's what I was wondering, but she did sound happy this morning. That's why I thought that." He spilled out his thoughts. _Should I call her and ask who she's with? No, that's not my business. I'll ask her later_. Yashiro would see her later at her photo shoot today, he was getting pretty adept at juggling the schedules of his two favorite people.

 _Maybe I should call her and find out. No.. not after what I did last night. Yashiro-san said she was really hurt. Ugh, how can I be so stupid...?_ Ren sighed then tried to focus on the future tasks of the day.

* * *

For the first time Reino got to experience Kyoko's blissful, culinary ecstasy face. He was correct in picking the little restaurant for their breakfast. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He snickered.

She shot him a suspicious look. "What?"

"You look so cute when you're enjoying yourself." His eyes sparkled.

She blushed, "Well it does taste good..." She looked down at the nearly finished meal. "How did you find this place?" It was so near to where she and Sho used to live. She felt a little twinge at the memory, but decided that she wasn't going to let it bother her. She had settled that a few weeks ago, after she forgave her mother.

"Well, when we were just starting out, we didn't have much money to get by on so when it was too late to cook something at home, we would find somewhere that we could afford that tasted good. I found this place on my 17th birthday." He didn't realize how close it was from where Kyoko lived right now. How could he have missed her so many times over the past 2 years?

"Reino... How did you know where I lived?" She honestly didn't want to feel like he stalked her, but it was kind of hard not to.

"Promise you won't laugh? It sounds really crazy." He asked.

She nodded. Her sitting here enjoying polite conversation, sounded crazy enough.

"I found out when I was in my coma after the accident." The images of their time together flashed into his mind.

"Is that how you got your scar?" She looked at him softly.

"Yeah, they said that the car hit me at full speed." he chuckled, "I actually died while they were fixing me up." He sighed and looked out the window of the little restaurant. "I guess that's why they don't bother me anymore. The accident must have damaged that part of me."

She took his hand in hers thinking he missed his abilities. "I'm sorry."

He smiled tenderly at her, "Don't be. It kept me from learning how to be around people. I only knew how to behave with spirits."

"I like your music..." She blurted out in a whisper. She didn't know why she did, something deep inside her told her to say it and not take it back. She blushed a little.

"I meant every word of it..." His violet eyes told her the truth as his fingers gently fiddled with the little fairy on her wrist. "I'm glad you like her."

"I like the little Corn stones you put on it." Her smile was filled with nostalgia.

"They're called Iolite, they're supposed to help you find harmony within yourself and help you find happiness. I thought they would be perfect for you. I know you have that big one, but when I could see things, the pain that was stored in it really frightened me. It made me fear for your safety." He still wanted to do something about it even though he didn't talk to the others anymore.

"Reino, I keep it safely stored away. You really don't need to worry about me. Besides I met Corn in Guam." She let it slip out.

"So that's what Tsuruga-san's real name is?" He remembered him admitting he changed his name.

"No, Corn's a fairy prince. He kind of looks like him though." The wheels were turning. "But I probably won't see him for a long time."

"I see." Now he was really worried about her. Tsuruga-san was making the lie even bigger and leading her down paths that would end in nothing. _If he was serious about her he would have told her the truth instead of lying to her. I guess I just have to make sure I'm there to pick up the pieces when she discovers the truth. Hmm, let's try and nip this in the bud._ "Kyoko...can I ask you a favor? You can say no and I won't be offended."

"Sure. What did you need?" She consented.

"Would you go out on a date with me tonight?" She could almost see purring little kittens as opposed to Ren's puppies. "You can pick wherever we go."

She looked stunned, but he knew she was thinking about it. She blushed deeply, "Um...I.. um, yes.." she murmured softly as she stared at the table.

"Thank you Kyoko. Should we take you to work?" It was already 10 am. She didn't realize that they had been sitting there for so long enjoying each other's company.

"I guess so." She honestly didn't want to leave and she didn't know why. "My photo shoot is at Hama Rikyu Gardens."

"Well, I guess we better get going. I don't want to make you late." He smiled, grabbed her hand and left money on the table for their meal.

* * *

 _ **SLAP!**_

"How dare you say that about my friend!" The angry little pixie growled fiercely at the tall actor. "1. after the way you treated me last night, you made it perfectly clear I'm nothing more than a kohai to you and on that note, it isn't up to you who my friends are. 2. you also made it perfectly clear to me last night that my apologies mean nothing to you and you lied when you said you forgave me in the past. Which makes me wonder what exactly else you're lying about... and 3. I am no longer going to allow you or, anyone else to make me feel worse than I did with Sho!" Tears of anger were streaming down her rosy cheeks, "because that's what you did..."

This was not how it was supposed to go at all. He only wanted her to see it his way. Today he let his anger get to him, just like he did in the hotel room when he confronted her about Fuwa. He stood there frozen as he watched her walk back to the singer's car.

"Ren what happened? Why did she slap you?" Yashiro was just as puzzled as the few people that had witnessed the little debacle.

Ren sighed deeply while running his hand through his hair, pushing it back away from his face in frustration with himself. "I screwed up again...I...I let my temper get the better of me...again."

Yashiro shook his head. "Well...Let's give her time to cool off. Maybe she'll talk to you later." Yashiro put his glove on and pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing." Ren asked.

"I have to call Takarada-san.. Those paparazzi over there aren't going to be very kind." Yashiro pointed his phone in the direction of the flashing cameras.

Ren sighed again. _Great.. just what we need._


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

 _ **The Slap Heard Around Tokyo**_

* * *

 _ **Before The Slap**_

* * *

"What are you doing?" Kyoko asked as Reino put on the denim military style cap and his sunglasses.

"I'm getting ready to walk you to your photo shoot." He didn't want the tabloids ruining her reputation with his past one.

"You don't need to put that on." She told him.

"But, won't people think we're dating?" He was a little shocked.

She smiled and mumbled, "Would that be such a bad thing?" then blushed a little.

His eyes grew wide and a huge smile crossed his lips, "No.. No it wouldn't be a bad thing. In fact, that would be a really good thing." He leaned over and caressed her cheek. He hopped out of the car and almost ran to her door to open it for her.

He kissed the back of her hand as he helped her exit the car and asked, "So... Does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?"

"Let's see after tonight." She told him blushing furiously from the little kiss he left on the back of her hand.

"Oh, almost forgot." He took a little piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

"What's this?" She opened it.

"My phone number. In case you want to talk." He gave her the most angelic smile. Kind of like the one in her dreams.

He took her hand in his and escorted a blushing Kyoko to her photo shoot. The first half of their little walk, she was stiff and nervous, this was all new to her. Kyoko had never had anyone, when not acting, treat her like this. Sure, Cain Heel held Setsuka's hand all the time, but that was acting and after last night it was clear to her, in her mind, that he certainly didn't feel that way about her.

She looked up and there he was. He was kind of hard to miss, being so tall. She remembered last night and stiffened, now she really didn't want to be there.

"Kyoko.. Are you okay?" Reino was so focused on her he didn't notice Ren.

"Um.. Tsuruga-san is mad at me for being Bo. I really don't want to be here now." She was almost in tears remembering last night.

"It's okay.. I'll stay if you want me to. If he wants to hurt you, he'll have to go through me first." He knew he couldn't take the man and he really had no desire for violence, but he had already been through extreme amounts of pain with the accident and Fuwa. He even died once already, so how bad could the big guy be? Surely no worse than the car that hit him.

"Please don't fight with him." She whispered with a little worry remembering Sho's little bragging display.

"Don't worry about me. Okay? I'm not going to run in looking for a fight." He gave her a little smile. He had a little bit of the skills to protect her, but he agreed with his sensei. _Fighting should be the last resort_.

"Thank you." She told him as he gently squeezed her hand to reassure her.

"Oh Ren, there's Kyoko-chan. Oh.." Yashiro regretted pointing her out instantly when he saw her walking hand in hand with the young scarred blond man they had seen the other day. _Oh dear.. his eyes._ He filled with dread.

"Yashiro-san?" The first thing Ren noticed was the horrified look on Yashiro's face, then he saw Kyoko walking hand in hand with the blond man that they had seen her with in the hall the other day and then the eyes... The violet eyes of Reino from Vie Ghoul, finally he saw nothing but the red, the heated color of anger, jealousy and rage.

His long legs carried him swiftly to the couple. He quickly reached to snatch her by the arm from Reino only to have his hand swatted away. "I told you to stay away from Kyoko, you purple-eyed freak. She doesn't need a rapist stalking her or, do I need to teach you a lesson."

"I am not a rapist and who Kyoko decides to spend her time with is her business. Now you should calm down before you upset her even more than you already have." Reino warned.

Her being Bo flooded the irrational part of his angry mind once again. "What does she have to be upset about, she's the one who lied to me?"

"Really? Are you sure she's the one that's lying?" Reino was thinking about what she had said about Corn. "I think you need to calm down before you speak to my little _**Fairy**_ again." He intended for Ren to pick up on that and he did, but he never said it to draw Kyoko closer to him. It did. She blushed, gave him a quick (almost light speed) hug and ran to her trailer and slammed the door behind her.

Ren was stunned. _What was that?_ It was like her hug to Reino was a bucket of ice water that had been thrown in his face.

Reino's phone chimed. He pulled it out and looked as Ren stared at the man in stunned silence.

 _ **Thank you. (^_^) from Kyoko**_.

Reino turned and walked to her trailer and leaned against the side to wait for her exit.

Ren would wait the two hours, he decided as he watched the scarred blond attend to the little goddess. He needed to talk some sense into her and somehow apologize for last night. He didn't mean to say those things to her and he hadn't realized just how much it had affected her. He had to make this right. Which is how we came to this.. in the parking lot.. of the park... in front of all of these paparazzi with him growling and pleading his case with so many not so nice words.

 _ **SLAP!**_

" _How dare you say that about my friend!" The angry little pixie growled fiercely at the tall actor. "1. after the way you treated me last night, you made it perfectly clear I'm nothing more than a kohai to you and on that note, it isn't up to you who my friends are. 2. you also made it perfectly clear to me last night that my apologies mean nothing to you and you lied when you said you forgave me in the past. Which makes me wonder what exactly else you're lying about... and 3. I am no longer going to allow you or, anyone else to make me feel worse than I did with Sho!" Tears of anger were streaming down her rosy cheeks, " **because that's what you did...** " _

_This was not how it was supposed to go at all._

 _ **Aftermath Of The Slap**_

" _Mogami-kun did what?"_ Lory was shocked and not just by the slap, but because she was so proper. He never dreamed she would do something like that in a parking lot with so many witnesses.

"She slapped him." Yashiro repeated.

" _Why did she slap him?"_ Lory asked thinking, _These kids are getting more and more interesting_.

"He basically threatened her boyfriend and called her a liar." Yashiro sighed in frustration.

" _Boyfriend? Mogami-kun has a boyfriend?"_ Lory was excited. His little LoveMe #1 was dating!

"Yes. From what I can guess maybe for about a couple of weeks. But that doesn't really matter right now. He lost his temper and she slapped him in front of the paparazzi. This is not going to look good for him tomorrow." Yashiro was really worried.

" _Oh calm down, he'll be fine. That boy was boring anyway. It'll be good for him."_ Lory meant every word he said. _"Just make sure he calms down before you bring him in and try and keep him away from her until I can talk to her and she calms down. I don't need them making a scene in the lobby. Those two obviously do stupid things when they're angry."_

"Yes Sir." Yashiro stored his phone and put a still stupefied Ren in his car to take him to his next appointment. He shut the door and pulled his phone back out with his still gloved hand and texted Kyoko an apology from himself with her schedule for the day.

"Buckle yourself in..." Yashiro almost hissed it, he was so angered by the situation at this point. "You two are going to be the death of me." Ren groaned at his own stupidity, once again.

Ren quietly obeyed and the two friends left for their next destination in a silence and mood that was worthy of the dead.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

 _ **Eye Of The Storm**_

* * *

He really didn't like seeing her like this, he might have even enjoyed it at some point a year ago but, he could see that it was tearing her up inside. He sighed and took her hand as they sat in his car at her next destination, LME, waiting for her to regain her composure.

"Kyoko..." He said gaining her attention. "I don't think he meant to say those things to you.."

She looked at him with a little shock. "But.."

"No, I wasn't exactly the type of person I would want someone to be around a year ago either." He sheepishly admitted.

"But you're not that way now.." She told him.

"No, I'm not, but he doesn't know that and if I were in his shoes, I would probably not want someone I care about around me either." He decided to plead Ren's case to her, she obviously saw him as a friend at some point. "I just don't want you to have this kind of anger in your heart. I know you can forgive him. You did Fuwa, right? I can tell." She no longer bristled at Sho's name when mentioned.

"But, this is different..." She weakly protested.

"You're right. It is.. I'll be right here for you. You aren't alone and you have friends. Don't let yourself lose the friend you obviously have in him because of a misunderstanding. Just consider it, okay?" He gently caressed the tension from the back of her neck as he explained.

She sighed deeply, "I'll think about it.."

"Good.." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

Her hand quickly shot up to the spot on her blushing face as she turned to look at him. "What was that for?"

"Because you are too cute." He chuckled. "and I wanted to take your mind off of all of this." He gave her a sly smile. _It worked_.

 _BZZT. BZZT._

He laughed at her reaction to her phone when it vibrated, "Too cute..".

She flipped it open to see the name of the caller. "Oh no.. It's Takarada-san.. He must be so angry with me for slapping Tsuruga-san." Her voice was filled with worry. "I just know he's going to fire me."

Reino shook his head. "He wouldn't fire you for something like that. You should probably answer though."

She nodded feeling a little fear as she brought the phone to her ear. "President?" with worry in her tone.

"Ah, Mogami-kun. Are you in the building yet?" He sounded cheery.

Her brow furrowed in confusion over his cheeriness. "Yes sir, I was just about to head in."

"Hmm, could you come up to see me as soon as you can?" He asked in a fatherly tone.

"Yes sir..." _Yep, he's going to fire me..._

"See you then." The line went silent.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked her gently.

She nodded. "You don't mind?" She was terrified and filled with resignation. "We'll have to stop at the front desk to get you a pass though."

He smiled, "Of course I don't mind. Well, we shouldn't keep your boss waiting."

"Yeah..." She mumbled.

"Oh.. I almost forgot." He gave her a sly smile as he reached into his back seat. "For you." He pulled out a single lavender, thorn-less, wrapped rose and presented it to her.

She took it and sniffed deeply, allowing the calming fragrance to cloud her mind. "Thank you."

He nodded and left the car to escort her into the building.

* * *

He sighed... again in the stifling silence of his manager's car with the words _**'worse than Sho!'**_ stampeding through his mind. _She doesn't see me that way.. so how could I have made her feel that way? Ugh! This is so confusing! Damn it! She's more than just a kohai to me! Why can't I get that through her thick skull? Ugh, if that's not bad enough.. she had to tell him about her 'Fairy Prince'. Had it been anyone else... She knows for sure now. I should have told her in Guam. She'll never forgive me now._

Yashiro heard his charge let out yet another deep sigh of despair for the umpteenth time. _Stubborn ass is going to let her slip away, isn't he...He's driving her right into that singer's arms with his temper. Threatening violence like that.. What was he thinking? She was more angry with Fuwa-san in Karuizawa than she was with the Beagle for that. You would think he would know her better than that after all the time he's spent with her..._

"You need to apologize to her properly this time..." Yashiro told him.

Ren clenched his fist, "I know that." He growled as he leaned back into the headrest of the car seat and closed his eyes tightly. "I just don't know how..."

"We're here..Now try to calm down before we get to the President's office." Yashiro reminded him.

Ren nodded. He didn't need to be told twice, the last thing he wanted was an earful from the Boss too. He felt miserable enough with what Kyoko had said.

* * *

"Hi, Kyoko-chan." The receptionist greeted her sweetly. "Who do you have with you?"

"Um.. This is my guest today." She answered shyly.

"Oh, then sir.. I need you to sign in right here and I'll get you a guest pass." the young man looked really familiar but, she just couldn't put a finger on it.

"Ah Reino.. Reino? Oh, you're Reino? Um right then.. here's your pass." The receptionist blushed a little and was a little flustered. "Have a nice day Kyoko-chan."

"Thank you Takahashi-san." Kyoko waved back to her as she and Reino entered the elevator.

Reino smiled, "Seems like everyone here knows you."

"Heh, it's because of the Pink Curse." She gave a cute little growl.

"Pink Curse?" He was a little confused. He had never heard of anything of that nature.

She giggled and shook her head. "It's the uniform for the section I'm in. It's this horrible, bright pink cover-all that they make us wear. Kotonami-san, Amamiya-san and I have to wear it whenever we do our LoveMe tasks." She explained.

"LoveMe?" _This sounds interesting_.

"Oh, that's the name of our section. President Takarada made the section for talents that are lacking in certain aspects of love. He's really big on the idea that you have to love to get anywhere in the entertainment world." Now that she thought about it, she kind of agreed.

"He's right you know." Reino agreed. "He does have an interesting way of going about it though." He remembered seeing a dark haired girl wearing a hot-pink jumpsuit, he just didn't remember when.

 _DING!_

"We're here." She announced as they left the elevator.

Reino was stunned by the sight of the doors to the office alone. _They look like they belong to a castle throne room_. "I'll wait out here for you, if you need me." He didn't want to intrude on something that may turn very personal so, he sat on the sofa outside of the large, richly carved mahogany doors and waited.

* * *

"Ren... Don't.." Yashiro warned as soon as they stepped off the elevator and saw Reino sitting on the sofa, quietly flipping through the messages on his phone.

"I won't." He grumbled. "I'm not a complete idiot."

"I was just reminding you." Yashiro informed him in a defensive tone.

"Hello, Tanaka-san. I have an appointment with the President." He told the receptionist trying to avoid any contact with the singer, staring straight at the receptionist with his fake smile plastered on.

"Ah Tsuruga-san, just have a seat and I will inform _His Majesty_." She giggled.

Ren chuckled, "So it's Henry the Eighth today? Thanks for the heads up."

She nodded and dialed the inner office. "Yes.. He's here right now. Yes Sir, I'll send him in." She set the phone back on it's cradle. "You may go in now Tsuruga-san."

Reino's eyes shot up to glance at Ren and watched, with worry, as the tall actor disappeared behind the large doors of the office.

Yashiro sat on the chair across from the sofa and sighed. This was taking a toll on his psyche. "He won't hurt her." He commented.

Reino looked back at him. "It's not physical hurt I'm worried about."

Yashiro nodded in agreement. He couldn't argue that one. The two men then settled into silence. One focused on his phone, the other on his day planner.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

 _ **The Storm Resumes**_

* * *

Ren entered the office mostly knowing what he would be facing and it was not good. He was ashamed of his earlier behavior and truly believed that she would hate him for eternity. After all, she did say that he was worse than Sho. He looked up from the tile he had been examining near the doorway to find Kyoko sitting on the sofa in front of Lory's large desk. She was staring right at him. His eyes dropped back to the floor in shame as he took a seat in the chair away from her. He didn't want her to feel anymore uncomfortable than he had already made her or, as much as he was.

"I'm sorry.." He mumbled.

"Well, I think I will go speak to Ten. I think you two have some things to work out here." Lory excused himself.

Kyoko looked up in horror. Why was he leaving her alone in this? Inwardly she shook in fear, outwardly she put on a brave face and endured.

"There's some things I need to tell you." He continued in a hushed tone as he rifled through his pocket. "You remember what happened in Guam?" He asked as he removed his contacts then looked up at her.

She gasped. "You're Corn?" Her brows furrowed. This was too much right now. "Why did you lie to me? I told you how I felt about the kiss when we had dinner that night in Guam! So...that's why you laughed.. It was all a game to you! I must have looked like such an idiot, the stupid little Japanese girl. Huh, you know.. I never told anyone about the things you told me as Bo, not even about the girl you liked. And I never purposefully lied to you about it. I..It's been a lie to me my whole life. You made fun of me. How am I supposed to take that?" She closed her eyes to calm herself.

"Kyoko, I'm sorry. I didn't tell **anyone** who I was. I had to do it so I could reach my goal and go back home to America. The only people that know are the Boss and my parents. I had to and I didn't know it was you until you dropped your stone in the stairwell. You aren't stupid and it wasn't a game to me. I just didn't want to hurt you." He wanted her to look at him as his confession flowed out but, she only turned her face away from him as she rested her chin on her fist and closed her tear filled eyes. "I lo..."

"Please...don't say that..." she whispered in an emotionless tone as a tear escaped. "You'll be leaving soon when you've reached your goal and I will be left here while you're happy and safe in America. So, please.. don't.. say **that**.. I told you in Guam.. I cannot bear to have anyone else leave me again and I meant it. So.. I am begging you not to let those words escape from your lips, because if you do, it will hurt me more than you can ever imagine." Her voice was shaky and the tears were freely flowing as she rose from her seat and left with her hand wrapped tightly around the wrist that held her little bracelet. _I'll be okay, everything will be alright..._ The pain her her chest was almost unbearable as she allowed the tears to flow freely, leaving the heaviness in the room behind her.

* * *

Lory entered his office after he heard the large doors shut to find Kuon wallowing in despair. "Well.. She's right.. That lofty goal you set for yourself definitely leaves no room for her. You have several choices at this point. I wonder what you will do." Lory mused.

"I just don't know Boss. Am I really making the right choice? I thought it was a good idea until now." He felt like he was dieing inside.

"Kuon, I can't make that decision for you. Only you know what you want. Goals change with life experience. I can't tell you what to do. You need to put a lot of thought into all of this before you go off half-cocked and make any life altering decisions." Lory lectured.

Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing when he left. He wasn't thinking clearly when he did it and now that Kyoko was in his life he was regretting this more and more. It was tearing him apart.

"I just want you to think about things. Find out exactly what's important to you, not Tsuruga Ren, but to Hizuri Kuon. Because that's the man you truly are..." Lory told him with finality in his tone.

Kuon nodded.

"Don't worry... she'll come around. I don't really think she hates you or, she wouldn't have stayed in the room to hear you out." Lory consoled him. "Now put your contacts back in and go home. I'm going to have Yashiro reschedule your day so you have time to cool off." Lory waved him away.

* * *

 _ **During Ren's Meeting With Lory**_

She looked to Reino with her tear-stained cheeks and her runny mascara, still crying. "Oh no..." He rushed to her and took her in his arms. She clung to him as if he were a life preserver in a stormy sea. "Shh, it's okay. Everything will be alright."

She nodded her buried face into his dark shirt.

"Is there anywhere private you can go?" He didn't think she wanted anyone to see her like this.

She nodded again and led him to the elevator with her head down, still trying to recover. With his arm wrapped around her shoulders they entered the elevator and made their way to the floor where the LoveMe room resided.

Reino was almost blinded by all of the pink in the room as he sat her on the sofa and placed her bag on the table. He grabbed a paper towel from the sink and moistened it with cold water, then gave it to her so she could wipe the tears and cool her skin. He searched through the little mini-fridge off to the side to find something to cool her eyes and quench a thirst she probably had.

"Here... this should help." He gave her a bottle of icy cold water. "Hold it right there." He moved it to her face before she opened it. It did feel good. Her mind was starting to clear, but she still looked and felt terrible.

"Mo! What the heck happened to you?" Kanae barked out.

Reino turned from his kneeling position in front of Kyoko. "She had a bad meeting with the big guy." Reino explained. _This must be Kotonami-san._

"What did that love obsessed idiot of a President do to her?" Kanae was starting to get annoyed.

"No. Wasn't him." Reino corrected.

Kanae's eyes grew wide, then narrowed. "What did that jerk do to my best friend?" She growled.

"I'm not sure, but she was really upset when she left." She pinched the sleeve of his shirt and tugged, then nodded. "Okay." He whispered. "I'll be outside, if you need me." He left the room to give her and Kanae the privacy she needed.

"I'll will make sure that man is incapable of reproduction by the time I'm through with him..." Kanae glowered.

"No Moko-san, please leave him alone." The tears started flowing again. "He just told me the truth..and I have to face it."

Kanae sat next to her and pulled her into her arms to comfort her. Then thought of something to take her mind off of things. "Is that the one that sent you all of those flowers and the music?"

Kyoko nodded and slowly a smile crept across her lips as she thought of the beautiful songs he sang to her.

"So. Did he buy you that bracelet too?" Kanae knew it was working.

Kyoko nodded again as she fiddled with the little fairy charm and ran her fingers over the stones. "He brought me that rose today too." She pointed to the delicate lavender rose that lay on the table next to her bag. "We have a date tonight.." Kyoko whispered.

"MO!" Kanae pushed her away by her shoulders. "Then let's fix that makeup of yours and get you cleaned up. We can't let him see you like this, it's shameful." Kanae gave her a winning smile.

"Thank you Moko-san." She told her with a small smile and a little less pain in her chest. "Thank you for being my best friend."

Kanae beamed. "Of course I am, stupid." Then hugged her.


	12. Chapter 12

_**I don't own Skip Beat! Or, the song I'm using for this Chapter. I hope you enjoy. I do not own the music I used in this chapter:**_

 _ **A Thousand Years - Christina Perri (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 12**_

 _ **A Soothing Breeze**_

* * *

The horrible day ended with Ren and Yashiro sitting in Ren's living room discussing the events of the day and Ren explaining why Kyoko had left crying. To say Yashiro was stunned would be an understatement. "So.. You're her _Fairy Prince Corn_ and when you have reached your goal here in Japan.. You're going back to America..This is essentially what you told her. Right?"

Ren nodded in shame.

"How else did you expect her to take it when you dropped that bomb on her?" Yashiro was almost as upset as Kyoko, knowing what she had been through with Sho and her mother.

"I don't know.. I just didn't expect this...I don't understand how she can forgive him and not me though." He was frustrated and confused again.

"Could it be perhaps, because everything was still so fresh and painful? You really didn't give her any time like I suggested. And she was right about your goals, they really aren't conducive to having a relationship with anyone that could possibly be stuck in Japan for the rest of their lives. She has friends and family here. Would you expect her to give all of that up just because you're here temporarily?" Yashiro's reasoning made sense.

"You're right. I don't know what to do..." Ren sighed as he took a long drink from his glass of the scotch that had been swirling around gently.

"I can imagine what a shock it was to her. Especially the _Fairy Prince_ thing. What possessed you to do something like that, knowing what she's like? No wonder she thought you were playing with her." Yashiro sounded a little angry.

"I know it was stupid. I should have just come out and told her then but, I panicked." Ren confessed.

Yashiro raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. "Well I can't argue there. Looks to me, like you have a lot to think about."

"What would you do?" Ren asked.

"Ren~ I can't tell you what decisions to make. I honestly don't know how important that goal of yours is to you or, just exactly how serious you are about Kyoko-chan. I do know that Reino has put forth a significant amount of effort to change and woo her though. You didn't see how they were together when she left." Yashiro warned him.

"I lost her today.. didn't I?" Ren let out a deep sigh as he stared at the pattern on his carpet.

"I don't know Ren.. I just don't know." Yashiro couldn't imagine what Ren was going through.

* * *

He dropped 10,000 yen in the musician's hat as they passed by then stopped as if he forgot something.

"Reino?" she whispered. "What's wrong."

"Nothing." He smiled as they walked back. "Excuse me? Could I borrow your guitar for a bit? I'll pay you for it."

The street musician handed it over, especially after what the scarred man dropped into his hat. "No problem."

Reino turned to Kyoko and started strumming a soft lilting tune. His soft crooning voice, caressed her soul and ears. She blushed. _He really loves me.._ She smiled softly and listened contentedly.

" _I have died everyday, waiting for you_ _  
_ _Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years_ _  
_ _I'll love you for a thousand more."_

He finally finished his song with a crowd of people surrounding the couple. He bowed to the musician and gave his guitar back to him and another 10,000 yen. "Thank you." He smiled.

The musician was stunned.

"Why did you give him so much money?" Kyoko whispered.

Reino smiled and chuckled. "I remember those days." He kissed her cheek. She blushed a little, she was starting to get used to his attentions. He took her hand and they continued to walk through the park, talking about their surroundings, themselves and just life in general, finally ending up at the little amusement park at the end of the path.

* * *

Yashiro knew he shouldn't have let the young, heart broken actor drink the moment he started sobbing. He had almost forgotten how young Ren actually was and how inexperienced he was in things like this. He put him to bed and cleaned the mess in the living room, sat on the sofa, put on a glove and took out his phone and dialed.

"Hi.." He said softly into the phone.

It was quiet for a moment. "Hi.. I suppose you had a long day too?" The familiar female voice surmised.

"Yeah, he's pretty torn up over all of this." Yashiro told her.

"Hmm, I would think so. He knew how she is. What _truth_ did he tell her? She wouldn't say anything else to me, but she seemed pretty shattered by the news he gave her." Kanae sounded a little more than just irritated.

Yashiro wasn't sure how much he could tell so he gave her the short of it. "All he told her was his goals.. he did apologize to her. I guess sometimes that might not be enough."

"Yeah.. not with her. Not after everything she's been through. She needs someone that's willing to put her first. Yuki... She gave so much of herself to Fuwa it was insane. She's only now getting what little she had back. She doesn't need another man to take from her." Kanae explained.

Yashiro sighed. "I know. I'm not sure he's ready to make that kind of sacrifice with the goals he has."

"I see..." She sighed, "You might want to make sure you keep him away from her for a while then."

"Yeah, I think maybe they need a little time apart for him to figure out what he really wants. What he's willing to give up." Yashiro told her.

"Mo... This is depressing. Can we talk about something else?" She wanted to change the subject.

"I agree. So.. other than the obvious, how was your day?" He gave her a light chuckle.

* * *

Reino saw it at the dart board. _Now I can do darts!_ He gave her a sly smile and paid the attendant. "How many for that one?" He pointed toward the little grey wolf cub with the big red bow around it's neck in the corner.

"That one will be ten sir." The attendant answered.

He hit all ten balloons perfectly. She smiled and inwardly laughed. _I wonder if he has a poster of Sho_.

"For you Akazukin-chan." He told her as he gave her the little wolf.

She nibbled on her lower lip cutely. He noticed and fought the desire to take those lips there and now. "Thank you...Urufu." She gave a mischievous smile as she took his hand and practically dragged a very happy and very stunned Reino to a snack booth.

They wandered throughout the entire small amusement park until night fell and the lights came on all over Tokyo. Their last ride of the evening would be the all too romantic cliché, the Ferris Wheel. When they entered the little compartment, blushing wildly, she boldly scooted into the seat next to him and snuggled into him as he wrapped his arms around her in a cocoon of warmth and safety. This felt right and she wasn't too nervous or, afraid of him being angry with her. He didn't belittle her fears. He didn't laugh at her when she spoke of the little fairies that she had seen or, her little angels and grudglings. He already knew they existed.

"So.. did you think about what I asked?" He asked softly in his melodic voice.

She turned and glanced up at him through her long, thick, dark lashes with a tinge of pink on her cheeks and nodded. "I think my answer to your question is yes. I do want you to be my... boyfriend." she stammered a little.

Reino's smile went wide as he leaned in and pulled her in for a kiss. Her lips were as soft as liquid silk and as sweet as honey. He felt like his brain was going to melt and ooze out of his ears. Her sweet kiss sent a shiver up his spine as she returned his and quickly caught on to the technique and creating her own. He pulled away with a smile as she still held her eyes closed. "I think we better stop here for now or, I'm going to get myself into trouble." He chuckled.

Her eyes popped open and he took in her cute crimson visage. "S-s-sorry." She whispered.

He laughed, "No, no.. It's quite alright." He kissed her cheek close to her mouth. "Perfect in every way." He held her a little closer and a little more tightly as the ride ended and on their way back to his car to take her home.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Omake:**_

* * *

There they were, once again facing off in the parking garage at TBM, an arrogant blond rocker and a tall brooding actor. Both with broken hearts.

"I thought you loved her..." Sho hissed.

"I do." Ren sighed.

"Then why didn't you do something about this!" Sho couldn't fathom how this could have happened.

"Don't you think I tried? I want her to be happy and if this is what it takes, then so be it!" Ren balled his fist, desperately wanting to hit something.

Sho was disgusted. "You're pathetic."

"I may be, but at least she knows I love her..." Ren turned and left for the elevator leaving a stunned Sho standing next to his car. _It's not like they're married. I will not lose this one. Screw going back to America, it's not worth it._ The thoughts of determination ran through his mind and a very sinister smile crossed his lips that would rival Cain Heel.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry, I had to end it here. My goal for this story was for Reino to finally get Kyoko. I plan on leaving it open, just in case I decide to wed them or, break them up or, just have them turn into friends later. After all, dating doesn't always mean the couple will get married. Thank you for reading my little stray from the OTP of RenXKyoko. I appreciate all the comments and hope you enjoyed. ;)**


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